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Microsoft Goes Open-Source With .NET

Phoronix: Microsoft Goes Open-Source With .NET

While this isn't directly Linux news, it's been announced on an ASP Blog that Microsoft will be releasing the source-code to the .NET framework libraries. Microsoft will begin offering the full source-code (comments included) to the .NET base class libraries, Windows Forms, ADO.NET, XML, and WPF.

Until any software's license rules meet the freedom guidelines (DFSG) which would allow it to be imported into the main Debian 'Free' repository and shipped on their CD, it's *closed* software. If I can't fix a bug and ship my modified version, it's not open.

Mono is still a hell of a lot more permissive than this, so I don't think they will be effected much. I would actually be really happy if MS themselves just shipped *Mono* for Linux with an LGPLv3 or similar license and the patent grants it provides, then we could at least use Mono with no fear of being sued over patent encumbrances.

And with the major competitor to C#, Sun, shipping their own Java implementation under the GPL directly themselves ensures they aren't going to come after you for patents. There is no real choice in my mind, one is free, one isn't.

C# looks to be a great language though, we can only hope GPL Java pushes MS the rest of the way, though I think hell will freeze over before MS risks people not needing Windows and competing on quality rather than lock-in.

While this isn't directly Linux news, it's been announced on an ASP Blog that Microsoft will be releasing the source-code to the .NET framework libraries. Microsoft will begin offering the full source-code (comments included) to the .NET base class libraries, Windows Forms, ADO.NET, XML, and WPF.

That code's not going to be under anything that is officially recognized as Open Sourced. It's Source Available, and it's rather nice indeed. But unless you can officially fix it yourself and propagate said fixes yourself without the risk of being sued out the wazoo (which is very uncertain here with this license) it's not Open Source.

Terrible title

Microsoft has not gone open-source. They are no more open-source now then they ever were, the code they are releasing is under the same restrictions as the MFC source that they've been 'giving away' for many years, basically look but don't touch. It's not open in any sense of the word and the people who are in a position to say so are saying that it is not.

And besides that, if you even look at this supposed open-source code, and you so much as contribute a patch to linux after that, Microsoft will have legal grounds to pull a SCO and just start suing everyone in sight.

This may mean that the only distributions with Mono on them will be those under the "Covenant". Does this mean a mass dump of Mono as it was the case with XFree86 when they changed their license? Miguel said that if Microsoft would license the code under a less restrictive license they'd redistribute the libs with Mono, maybe since Novell is under this (in)famous covenant, they will regardless?

For many Mono is quickly becoming the new bad boy in Linux, and many are already forsaking it.

From the beginning, I've viewed the Mono project with some trepidation- it's trying to ape things MS does and only MS does. Even SAMBA's not that far- they're doing what was someone else's spec before MS glommed onto it for their own inscrutable use.

From the beginning, I've viewed the Mono project with some trepidation- it's trying to ape things MS does and only MS does. Even SAMBA's not that far- they're doing what was someone else's spec before MS glommed onto it for their own inscrutable use.

Indeed... SMB existed even before Microsoft decided to use it for their Network-shares protocol.

Mono is a two edged blade, and Microsoft was quick to leave Mono out of the Covenant deals with Xandros an Linspire, but made it th backbone for Novell. No, I'm not paranoid, it is clear Microsoft sees Mono as leverage for good or worse, and Novell knows that too. How will this romantic affair between Novell and Microsoft end up like, only time will tell... I sure thought Novell had learned their lesson when dealing with Microsoft... They already stabbed them in the back before (NetBIOS/IPX & NetWare anyone?)